Harley and the Davidsons

[Steve009]

has anyone else watched this show? I'm not a huge bike guy but it's an awesome show demonstrating the history of the company, competition, and motor sport. Definitely check it out!

 

[69clone]

I've got to see most of it. I enjoyed it.. I'm also not really into bikes so I learned a lot about the company. It's cool to see their ideas and struggles. Maybe we can write in to see about a dodge brothers show!

 

[Ugk]

I watched it and enjoyed it. Dodge brothers would be a good one. Think they mite have been linked to Ford somehow to..

 

[Steve009]

I've got to see most of it. I enjoyed it.. I'm also not really into bikes so I learned a lot about the company. It's cool to see their ideas and struggles. Maybe we can write in to see about a dodge brothers show!

I agree! Dodge brothers would be great!

 

[mmissile]

Didn't see any of it. Did someone put performance and Harley in the same sentence? They're profiling machines.

 

[XMAN JR]

I watched it. Very interesting. Thumbs up. I believe the dodge boys built some of the chassis for ford

 

[ykf7b0]

I did watch all 3 episodes of Harley And The Davidsons and enjoyed it very much. Harley Davidson is a great American success story. Edsel Ford was portrayed as a greedy money grabber and would have more than likely ruined HD if the deal with Ford had came to be.

 

[the mississippi madman]

 

[YY1]

Yep. A bit over-dramatized in parts, and even tough they claimed to go to extremes on technical detail, I found some issues a bit BS-y.

I particularly didn't like the way Arthur seemed to change mood from passionately negative to passionately positive on a given issue within the same scene.

Other than that, it was pretty good.

Lots of Budweiser drinking and riding portrayed. Interesting as that's normally a big no-no, although very few riding without a helmet was portrayed, which I don't believe for a second in the '00s to 1930's.

 

[Mike67]

Best show so far that I've seen lately, and could care less for bikes anymore.

 

[Budnicks]

I WATCHED ALL 3 EPISODES

it was OK, I wonder how factually correct/accurate most of it was
like the Edsel Ford part, or the design suit, allegedly "prior art/drawings
or proof of prior engineering", would have stopped the law suit in it tracks,
patents or not...

I wouldn't be surprised it was based on facts too,
especially the cost overruns to get rid of the perceived competition...

I liked the show, but don't believe most of it too, was OK but;
Hollyweird license to overdramatize, make it actually interesting...
Should have gone past WWII, instead of stopping in the 30's...
Thru the AMF Brunswick {bowling Mfgr Eqip} buyout too,
then the Davidson's families & Harley's employees buy back...

Figured they'd get at-least to the start of the
booze & drug induced/biker culture cult following,
the 1%er's, Hells Angles & the Willie Davidson's era,
Viet Nam or after Korea, going into WWII etc....
Maybe a bad image, but it's their history too...
Also touch on the current company....

Yeah performance, I love the quote it's {a whopping} 3 hp,
they all sounded like a Briggs & Straton Lawnmower Engines running...LOL
My lawnmower has more grunt...

I do like the looks of the Knuckle-heads,
they stayed true to being an oil leaking pig too...
It was OK, just needed to be more complete story...
Maybe a sequel series is coming...

 

[YY1]

They did touch on the oil leaking problem.

Supposedly the producers had full access to the company archives and interviewed descendant family members.

I believe they stopped mid 30's because of a rift between the founders, but I'm sure someone will correct me.

Lots of beer drinking and fighting, even if the other manners seemed out of place with that.

 

[BeeKool]

I watched it and enjoyed it. Dodge brothers would be a good one. Think they mite have been linked to Ford somehow to..

Dodge brothers were engineers for Ford. Got tired of things. Left to start their own. Eventually leading to fbbo.
Ford was a bunch of pos. Tried to tank Harley then buy the company back. **** ford.

 

[Photon440]

I believe the dodge boys built some of the chassis for ford

They built the chassis, transmission, engine, axle...just about everything on a Model T except seats tires and body parts was Dodge...until 1913 when the brothers said they were leaving Ford to build their own cars. The Dodge brothers owned a good chunk of Ford, and had ten times as many employees as Ford when Henry started out.

 

[BeeKool]

They built the chassis, transmission, engine, axle...just about everything on a Model T except seats tires and body parts was Dodge...until 1913 when the brothers said they were leaving Ford to build their own cars. The Dodge brothers owned a good chunk of Ford, and had ten times as many employees as Ford when Henry started out.

That's good to know. I can point that out to Ford lovers. Lol What about Plymouth? I've always wondered how and when they started.

 

[Photon440]

Plymouth was started directly by Walter Chrysler in 1928 as a direct low price competitor to Ford, and likewise DeSoto was created by Chrysler that same year to compete with Dodge. Later that year, Chrysler bought Dodge Brothers.

Before working exclusively for Ford, the Dodge Brothers also built thousands of transmissions for Oldsmobile.

 

[YY1]

Did they not also build truck frames?

 

[super-bee_ski]

Very good show
I enjoyed it

A good History lesson
PS: I rode Harley's in the early 70's
Now my Chinese dentist has one!

 

[happyjackdaddy54]

Didn't see any of it. Did someone put performance and Harley in the same sentence? They're profiling machines.[/QUOT1st T/F bike to go 200 mph was a Harley twin engine by Elmer Trett! LONG TIME AGO. So, performance AND styling

 

[Timmayy]

The show was very entertaining. Great props and vehicles. It looked like they kept repainting the C-cab delivery truck for various scenes. Budwieser bottles were wrong though (I'm a beer can collector and have some of the first Bud cans)

I liked it a lot.